


Saving Ianto

by willowmellontree



Category: Doctor Who (2005), Torchwood
Genre: M/M, Post-Series 04: Miracle Day, Series 03: Children of Earth (Torchwood), season three doctor who, season two torchwood
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-25
Updated: 2020-06-26
Packaged: 2021-03-03 21:27:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,089
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24912346
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/willowmellontree/pseuds/willowmellontree
Summary: Original Character Willow (The Doctors daughter) comes up with a plan to save Ianto from the 456. She doesn't tell anyone about it until after miracle Day so that time can run without being affected. Can she save Ianto without Jack knowing?
Relationships: Jack Harkness/Ianto Jones
Kudos: 8





	1. Introducton.

**Author's Note:**

> Yesterday I watched Ianto die for the first time and he needs saving.

It would be better if we started from the beginning. This story starts when Captain Jack Harkness finds the Doctor just before the year that never happened took place. 

One night on the valient, the Master told someone to bring Jack into the main room where the Doctor was. He had this new device that he wanted to check out so he tested it on the Doctor and Jack. He took some cells from each man and put it in the machine and that made a child. A child that could regenerate but didn't change her appearance and she was named Willow. The Master got bored with the machine and destroyed it but told the child she could walk anywhere she wanted so long as she didn't escape. Willow grew over the year until she resembled a human girl age 14 or 15 and she had gotten close to the Doctor and Jack. If you think about it, they're both technically her parents.

The Master died and the other two men decided who should look after Willow. They both lived dangerous lives but they decided Jack would take her first and the Doctor would drop in whenever he could. So that was decided and Jack took her back to the Torchwood hub to meet the team only they weren't there. Jack told Willow to stay there and not touch anything until he came back so she waited and looked around the hub. She was amazed she explored the place and she hardly knew what anything was. You've got to remember that she was only born a year ago but she learning quick. 

The Torchwood team came back and Jack introduced everyone. "This is Ianto Jones, Gwen Cooper, Owen Harper and Toshiko Sato. Everyone this is Willow she will be coming to stay for a while."

Willow only smiled and waved a bit. The rest of the Torchwood team had questions but they got on with whatever they were doing. The teenager went to Jack. "We're under Cardiff aren't we?" She asked.

"Yes, we are. Welcome to Torchwood. I've got to do work so why don't you sleep somewhere. It's been a long day." He went to his team and Willow went to a room somewhere else to get some sleep. It didn't really work, a lot has happened. She heard the others downstairs telling Jack off for some reason.

* * *

It took a while for Willow to get used to Torchwood. She started to get along with the others and she started talking more. The truth got out to the Torchwood team in the end and they knew 70% about what happened on the Valient. The Teenager started helping out on Alien runs and soon enough she classed the others as friends. She got along with Ianto then any other of the team and helped him out with the cleaning up and everything. 

She noticed when Jack and Ianto acting differently with each other so she went to interrogate Jack. She caught him when everyone had gone home one day.

"Jack, is there anything going on between you and Ianto?" She asked him.

"Why, do you think there is?" He asked her back.

Willow nodded. "Yes. I think there is. Do you love him?"

"Well, that depends on how you see love." He said.

The teenager grinned. "Jack answer the question."

"What will you do if I don't?" He asked.

"I'll tell dad that you're firing guns around me." She stated.

Jack put his hands up in surrender. "Alright. Yes, I do. You spend too much time down here, go and get some air."

She rolled her eyes and went outside.

* * *

Time went fairly quick. Gwen and Rhys had their wedding and Martha came to stay for a bit. Sooner or later Jacks brother came up from the surface and shot Tosh. Willow had been there and tried to help her but there was nothing she could do. Both Tosh and Owen died that day so Willow decided she didn't want anyone else to die that she couldn't save so she called her dad. 

The next time they saw Jack was when the Daleks took the earth but she didn't go with him at the end of it all. She didn't see Gwen or Ianto that day. The next time she saw Jack was when her dad was seeing everyone before he regenerated. They saw him at a bar and before anything really happened, she went up to him. He was sad.

Willow hugged him since hugs are the best medicine and said. "What happened Jack?"

"Ianto died in my arms and I couldn't stop it." He said as he took a sip of a drink.

She gasped. "He can't die Jack. He's the love of your life."

"Was." That's all he said.

"How?" She asked.

He finally looked at her. "You should know. You were there. You must be younger then I thought." He sighed and went back to his drink. "It was the 456. It wanted the children and we tried to stop it but he died."

Willow looked towards her dad. "I have to go. I'm sorry about Ianto." She went to leave but remembered why she was over there in the first place. "Oh yeah. The man next to you is called Alonso." She made her way through the crowd towards her dad and they made their way towards the Tardis

They got to the console room and she saw a box with a few chains that held Tardis keys. She remembered someone telling her the keys could keep you alive so long as you were wearing it. If someone shot you or something while you were wearing it then you'd still die but you'd come alive again within two days. You'd still be alive if you took it off afterwards but you'd age with normal time. This was just what she needed. She took three of them. One for Ianto, one for Gwen and a spare just in case.

She called the Doctor open. "Dad, when did the 456 come to Earth? Could you drop me off a week before it happened?" She asked.

He nodded. "If you want but be careful. You know the rules, Don't mess with time. Why do you want to go there anyway?"

She shrugged. "No clue. Sounds like an adventure." The Tardis landed on the rift and before Willow went out she said, good luck with the regeneration."

Willow ran all the way to the hub and went in. Jack and Ianto were being busy with something on one of the screens. She went to hug Jack and the Ianto (She really likes to give people hugs.) "Hi you two. Remind me what day it is today."

"Sunday," Ianto said.

She nodded. Not quite the week that she needed but a day will do. She went up to her room to think for a bit. For time to run smoothly, Jack needed to think Ianto was dead for at least two and a half years. If she got her history right then the hub would blow up tomorrow meaning she had to get everyone thinking these Keys weren't what they are. She thought for a bit more before she had it. Perception filters. She went back downstairs and Gwen was there. Good. Willow hugged her as well.

"Dad told me to show you three these." She held up the keys. "Perception filters. Very important if you need to hide from other people so long as you keep them on. For example, if you're on the run somewhere and someone is trying to kill you, then you can wear these."

"So if we're on the run somewhere then we can't take them off no matter what happens," Gwen asked.

Willow nodded. "Exactly. I'll keep hold of them until we need them."

The adults went back to their alien hunting and Willow went up to the bay to get some pizzas. Who knows when they'll be able to have a decent meal together again. She went back to the hub with the pizzas and put them down on the first available space. Jack and Ianto were talking about going to a hospital to sort out some alien hitchhiker and Gwen was on her phone probably talking to Rhys. Willow realised she will have to tell a lot of lies over the next week or so. Never mind. If it saved Ianto, who cared.

The young girl opened one of the pizza boxes which had ham and pineapple in it (Owen used to say pineapple never belonged on pizza) and sat at one of the desks. "So what have I missed while I've been gone?" She asked.

"I had to buy some new mugs," Ianto said. "The Daleks didn't think that some of us need to drink tea and coffee."

Willow laughed. "I still need to try coffee but dad said I had to wait until I'm older. It could make me hyper apparently."

The rest of the night, the four of them had the time of their lives. Gwen had to go home and Willow decided to go to bed early. It would be a while before any of them had a good nights sleep.


	2. The story

Willow woke up around half seven. If her history was correct then she would have an hour and ten minutes before things started going wrong. She went downstairs to see no one was in. Jack and Ianto were probably at the hospital chasing aliens and Gwen was god knows where. The teen started doing last-minute plans as they'll probably need some equipment or something. Money. They'll defiantly need money if they're going on the run and probably some sort of protection. She went back up to her room to collect a bag. (Slightly bigger on the inside than the outside.) She took a fully charged portable charger she took from the future as well as a few water bottles and a couple of bags of crisps. She then went to the computer system and plugged a Memory stick in. She copied every single Torchwood hard drive onto it and put it away in the bag. Most of this stuff would be useful for after she saved Ianto. The Memory stick would also have photographs of the team on it as well as important information and the blueprints of the hub. She thought for a second. She didn't have much time left, what else would be important? Bringing painkillers was probably a good idea as well as an emergency list of numbers and a torch. And batteries. Some form of ID? Perhaps. 

If Ianto needs anything after being saved from death, it's tea and coffee so she also put in a few tea bag boxes and coffee things that you can only find on a particular planet. Willow also put in a few sets of clothes in because something is going to get stained with blood. If she took anything else, then someone would notice and ask questions which really needed to be avoided for another two years. She slung the bag over her shoulder and the door opened. Gwen walked through and went straight to one of the computers. 

"What's up?" Willow asked her.

She didn't take her eyes from the computer. "Nothing. Just noticed something off."

Jack and Ianto rushed in and they started investigating the patterns of the children. Willow went outside and sat just next to the lift while watching the world go by. Gwen came out not long later and the teen looked at her watch. Almost time for the second strike. 

Once again, all the children in the world stopped. Willow ran up to where Gwen was and acted as ignorant to what was going on with the rest of the world. She would never admit this out loud but being there as it was happening is scarier than just reading about it in your dad's library. 

Once it was all over, they ran back to the hub.

"Willow wasn't affected," Gwen said.

"If you noticed, it was only the primary school children being affected," Willow said back. 

Everyone went out to try and sort it out and Willow stayed in the Hub. Hours went by and it was starting to get dark. This was the moment to make sure everything went smoothly. Ianto came back to do research and Gwen came back not long later. There are some things you can't learn in a book and one of those is that Gwen is pregnant. Jack came back and Willow thought now would be a good time to give Ianto and Gwen the key chains.

"Hi, Jack." She said. "I know you're busy but I just wanted to see if the perception filters worked. They're not full strength so people could still notice you at the corner of their eye." She gave one to Ianto and he put it on. She gave two of them to Gwen and told her that Rhys could use one if he wanted. She put them both on but she didn't really pay attention to anything. Step one was done. Next is to slip out of the Hub without anyone outside noticing her. "I'm going to go and get some take-away. See you in a bit." She took her bag and her jacket and slipped out of the hub without anyone seeing her as she slipped into the shadows. She waited for a few minutes and she saw Gwen running and Ianto only just slipping away. The Torchwood hub exploded. Goodbye 100 years of history.

Willow turned her head and saw snipers. Great. Let's hope Gwen and Ianto didn't take the perception filter to seriously. All Gwen needed to do was give Rhys one of the key chains and no one should die if she made a giant mess of time. She saw Gwen get out with the Ambulance so she should be safe. The teenager decided to follow Ianto since he was the one she was supposed to be saving in the first place. 

A question entered the young girl's mind. Why was she doing this anyway? Why was she putting the whole of time and space at risk? Look at all of the examples her dad gave her when someone altered a fixed point in time. Or maybe this isn't a fixed point in time. She was doing this for Jack anyway. She was much closer to him then she was with her dad and the look on Jacks face when he thought the love of his life was dead. In the end, the consequences didn't matter even if she got grounded by her dad for putting herself in danger. It was his flat for letting her go.

She caught up with Ianto. "You survived then." She said.

"Yes, I did. Now someone is trying to kill us and we have a mess on our hands." He kept walking on. "Did you still want me to wear this thing?" He momentarily took the key chain off.

"Yes, you do. Don't take it off until I say you can. It's for science and you need to promise me not to take it off." Willow told him.

He sighed. "Ok, I'll keep it on just to make you happy."

They ended up walking for a bit and in the end, they got a car and went towards where Jack would be.

By the time the next day happened, everyone was reunited again and still wearing their key chains. Gwen taught them how to be criminals but Willow had to decline to get money.

"Do you think my dad would be happy if I said I learnt how to steal. He would never let me see you lot again." She said and she stayed in the Wearhouse they were at.

The 456 came to earth later that day and Willow knew that whatever happens tomorrow is what counts. She would have to think up some more lies. Maybe when everyone thinks Ianto is dead she could say that her dad would pick her up later on. After all, it's not the safest time to be a child.

Willow went to sleep when night came and woke up early in the morning. Today was the day when every moment mattered. Willow went up to Jack and Ianto before they went to interrogate the 456 and hugged them both.

"Good luck you two." She said. "And Ianto, remember to keep the chain on. It's a lucky charm."

They went on their way and Willow started plotting the next part of her plan. Transport back to Cardiff. She brought two train tickets on one of those compartment trains for two days time. A good privet way to talk to Ianto about the plan. 

Right now though, she would just have to follow Gwen's lead until she and Rhys went back home. They went to the place where everyone had died from gas. There was a moment where Willow thought she had gotten the plan wrong and Ianto was actually dead. It was an upsetting night for all of them.

Jack, Rhys and Gwen went out of the room to get some sleep. She told them earlier that her dad was going to pick her up sometime soon so they went and Willow stayed with Ianto. He would wake up exactly 24 to 48 hours after he died so she asked one of the men to bring the body to one of the privet rooms so that he wouldn't be disturbed. The teen stayed outside the room just so she could be there if he woke up early. She heard the news that the children would be collected at 12 tomorrow and she hoped she didn't do anything to time. 

If she had gotten something wrong then 10% of the children of the earth would be taken. If anything went wrong with time, then Miricle day would go wrong. The history books mentioned Torchwood but they only mentioned Gwen and Jack. The next challenge would be rebuilding the Torchwood hub without anyone knowing. 

She went to sleep ready for day five. 

Willow woke up and checked on Ianto in case he had woken early. He hadn't. There was still another few hours before the twenty-four-hour mark. She waited around until the news that the 456 had gone because of the children. She knew Jack was behind that and that he would disappear right after to try and get over Ianto's death.

The twenty-four-hour mark came and went. 

Twenty-five hours.

Twenty- six hours.

Twenty- Seven hours.

She heard movement coming from the other room and she opened the door. Ianto was waking up and she gave a sigh of relieve. Part one is successful. 

"I died didn't I?" Was the first thing Ianto said.

"Not really. I told you the key chain was a lucky charm." She stated. He tried to sit up. "What do you need? I have water, crisps and pain killers." She took one of the bottles of water out of her bag and gave it to him.

He drank half of it and gave it back to her. "You have a lot of explaining to do. Does Jack know about this?"

"I will explain later and no. Nobody but you and I knows that you're alive. We can't tell anyone until after Miricle day is over." She said.

"How far away is that?" He asked.

"About two and a half year. I have a lot to explain and a lot of time to explain it in. We have a train back to Cardiff tomorrow and an empty house in which we can be in while we rebuild the hub. Where do you want me to start?" She asked.

Ianto took off the key chain. "I'm guessing this isn't a perception filter. Clever cover story. How does it work?"

"I don't know exactly what it is but as long as you wear it, you can't die. It's sort of like a pause button on your life if you wear it. Once you take it off the play button on your life goes again and you can die. No consequences and it's completely harmless." She said.

"That explains why you and Jack don't have one." He put in on again. "I don't see how we could rebuild the hub. We don't have anything..."

Willow took out the memory stick. "I was prepared. This holds everything, including what type of bricks were used and photos."

"That's clever." He said. "So with this chain, what exactly can I do with it?"

The teen sat down on a chair. "You can spend as much time with Jack as you want and if you have enough, then you can take it off. If you never put it back on again, then you'll age and die of natural causes. And you can get into the Tardis." She said.

"So not quite immortal and Jack doesn't have to be alone." He said. "Where did you get it?"

"I took it from the Tardis. She let me take three of them. One for you and one each for Gwen and Rhys if they wished to use it." She explained.

Ianto took some more water. "I doubt they'd use it for too long, but I suppose it would be useful if we're out of an Alien hunt."

Willow nodded. "Exactly. Jack would've gone to the stars by now which means we can explore London."

"Shouldn't we be going undercover if no one knows I'm alive?" He asked.

"I don't know." She said. "You're more used to this thing then I am."

He stood up. "Being dead uses a lot of hunger up. Do you have any money?"

"I have 50 pounds in cash and I might've rescued the Torchwood bank card but that's only for rebuilding the hub and emergencies. " She said.

"You know what," Ianto said. "You're better at my job then I am."

They went out of the Wearhouse completely hidden by the shadows. The sun was starting to set and they went to a place to get some dinner and to get Ianto some new clothes so he could blend in and hope no one would recognise him.


	3. Hiding

The next day, they went to catch the train. It was early in the morning so not many people would see them and they stayed away from security cameras when they could. They got onto the train and brought some breakfast with them before sitting down in the carriage.

"How am I going to spend two years without anyone seeing me?" Ianto asked.

Willow spread out on the entire seat. "Rebuilding Torchwood secretly should take a few years. That includes finding a pterodactyl and getting some alien gear. My dad should be able to help with that. We also still need to deal with Weevils and anything that comes out of the rift as well as making sure we talk to as little people as possible. I don't think Gwen would stay around for very long so we don't need to worry about bumping into her or Rhys."

"This is going to be a pain in the arse." He muttered. The train left the station and the two of them fell asleep since sleep had gone out of the window lately. 

A few hours later, they pulled up in Cardiff station and snuck off the train as best as they could. They decided it would be better to go to Ianto's flat seeing as he has his stuff. They couldn't be there for long incase his sister came to see to the flat.

"Shouldn't you call your dad?" He asked.

She shook her head. "He's only just regenerate so he'll be in a mood. Besides, being alone for two years will make you crazy and you need help rebuilding Torchwood. You know, I think I get on better with Jack then I ever did with the Doctor so all in all, I'd rather stay here."

"Good enough reason. Have you thought up what you're going to tell everyone when they find out?" He asked.

"Not yet." The teen answered. "But I have over two years to practise."

They spent the rest of that day sorting through Ianto's things so they could get to the other place.

* * *

The next 15 months were spent getting the basics in the hub done. Once the tower had been put back in, they hired a team of builders to structure out the base. They put in the supports and tunnels as well as the brick wear and the shells of some of the rooms. The team of builders had to be retconned after every shift but they found enough. Willow brought some black paint and painted Torchwood on the brickwork. They sorted out the stairs and even added a few more rooms where they could sleep in as well as a small kitchen. They sorted out the lights and the backup power and soon enough the shell of the hub was finished. 6 more months were devoted to putting in the cool features that made Torchwood like the computers and desks and the information centre. Willow plugged in the memory stick into the system which brought back the security and the power to sort out the lift. The only thing that was missing was the pterodactyl and of course, the rest of the team.

"We built this in just under two years," Ianto said. "What are we going to do with the remaining nine months?"

Willow had just come in with a box of pizza. "I don't know. We still need to reset the security cameras and get some more equipment and another SUV since the last one got stolen. We can't can all of the rift stuff done until Jack comes back since he's the only one that can deal with that stuff."

* * *

8 months later, they had gotten all of the equipment plus a few things that had fallen through the rift. The cameras were up and there was a report from somewhere in the city that a few Weevils had started to go rogue. 

"We're back in action then?" Ianto said and the two of them went into their new SUV to try and get them. It didn't take long seeing as both of them were used to the Weevils. They took them back to the hub and put them into the cells.

Willow got a text on her phone and she groaned. "It's my Dad. He says he's going to pick me up in ten minutes. I'm in so much trouble."

Ianto went to make some tea. "But he doesn't know does he?"

"He doesn't but he'll ask questions." She put her phone in her pocket. "I have an idea. There's a way to see Jack but it's right of the end of the universe. According to dad, something happened and only his head survived."

"Might as well. There's nothing else to do." He said and not long later they heard the Tardis outside. 

They went up to it and the door opened. The Doctor stepped out but he hadn't regenerated yet. In fact, he looked younger. So that's why he let her go. It was because saving Ianto is a fixed point in time. Willow walked straight into the Tardis. "Dad could you do us a favour. Could you take us to the face of bow?"

"Not a good idea." The Doctor said. "It could ruin the future for you."

"Jack went somewhere and Ianto is getting bored and future Jack is probably alone with the only company of a cat." She stated and her dad gave up. He pressed some buttons and they landed. "Thanks. I'll text you when we need picking up."

Both Willow and Ianto stepped out into a hospital ward and right at the other end was the Face of Boe. They quietly went towards him and he telepathically made them jump. "So I'm guessing you couldn't wait to see me."

Ianto didn't speak so Willow did. "We only came to see you since there's nothing else to do. Being in hiding for nearly two and a half years is hard work."

"So in your time, I don't know he's alive yet?" Jack asked. 

"Exactly." The teen confirmed.

They stayed with Jack for a few hours and the three of them talked without revealing anything in the future. The Face of Boe seemed happy that he could see Ianto and Willow again for the last time. In the end, the Doctor picked them up and took them back to Torchwood. He got the flight path wrong so they landed a month and two weeks in the future. Which meant they could tell Jack Ianto was alive.

* * *

Willow phoned Jack up and apparently he was on the plane pack to Wales from America with Gwen. She told him to meet her by Torchwood tower as soon as he could and he said he would be there. She waited for a few hours until She saw him walking towards her in his WW2 coat. She rushed up to him and hugged him.

"I haven't seen you for ages." She said.

He pulled away from the hug. "Why did you call it sounded urgent."

This was the moment of truth. "Jack, I have something to tell you." She told him everything from start to finish apart from when she and Ianto saw the Face of Boe.

He took a step back. His face was full of emotion. "I understand. I need some time to think." He left her standing there so she took a deep breath and went back to the hub. 

Ianto was there waiting. "So?"

"He took it surprisingly well. He just needs some time but I told him how to get in." She said. 

Jack came through the front door about an hour later. He stopped when he saw Ianto and he stopped as well. "So, did you miss me?" Jack asked.

"Yes." Was Ianto's reply and he rushed into his arms. They kissed as well as if it was the last day on earth. Willow left them alone for a bit and decided to tell Gwen while she was at it. Gwen said she would come by in the morning which was understandable.

The teen went back to the hub with Chinese and she saw them just sitting down and chilling. "So then Jack. I saved Ianto."

"Yes, you did." He replied.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'll leave what happened next to your imagination. Hope you liked it.


End file.
